Gather Them Up
by Akaluan
Summary: When Kisuke sees Kurosaki Ichigo moping about in the rain next to the river where Masaki died, he barely hesitates before coaxing the young boy out of the rain with promises of stories of his lost loved one. He thought that would be the last he saw of the boy, but it wasn't. Now he's got a collection of children and not a clue on how to be a parent.
1. Chapter 1

This is a tumblr prompt from Anon: "AU where Kisuke effectively adopts Uuryu, Ichigo and sisters when they lose their respective loved ones."

It's completed at around 9 chapters and was originally posted in an unedited form on my tumblr, and the newly edited chapters will be posted one chapter a week until everything is up! I hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

He never meant to disrupt everything so thoroughly, and Kisuke would defend that statement till the day he died. He'd known there was a _chance_ his actions could affect things, but… it had been a small one. Too small to worry about, he'd thought. Too unlikely to occur.

Besides, he wasn't about to let a kid sulk about in the rain next to a river. Not after he'd already failed the kid once by letting down his guard.

(He was just as much to blame for Masaki's death as anyone was.)

(And so much more to blame than Kurosaki Ichigo was or could ever be.)

Coaxing the young Kurosaki from the water's edge was as difficult as he'd expected; the boy was a Shiba at heart, stubborn and willful and _determined_ even in the face of despair. That he didn't _know_ his heritage only made the resemblance more stark.

But he managed, coaxing the boy away with promises of stories and anecdotes about Masaki's life. He didn't have _many_, but… he had enough to work with, mostly from listening to Isshin ramble about the 'love of his life' every so often.

Kisuked expected that to be it; a single afternoon of only _slightly_ embellished stories, with tea and snacks and just letting the child _be._

(He wasn't certain he was doing it right. Was he supposed to encourage the boy to move on? Was the storytelling too much? Should he try to engage Kurosaki more, instead of leaving him be?)

(He didn't know.)

(Surely it wouldn't matter. It was just a single afternoon's diversion, after all.)

Except the next week Kurosaki Ichigo crept back to the shoten, holding one of his baby sisters tight while the other trailed after him, wringing her hands and fretting away.

"Can you help?" Kurosaki asked, holding out his sister's hand to show Kisuke her burn.

Kisuke took the girl's hand in his, examining the burn while he asked, "Why come to me?" Hadn't Shiba Isshin opened a clinic? Surely he knew how to treat a minor burn like this.

"Tou-san's _busy,_" Kurosaki said with all the aggrieved sulkiness a child could display. "So can you?"

"Maa, of course I can," Kisuke answered with a smile, rising to his feet and shooing the three through the back. He called for Tessai, sat the three down, and went about caring for the small burn on the little girl's hand.

Once the burn was dealt with and the bandage secured, Kisuke applied a touch of reiatsu to coax her tiny stores to help her heal. Her powers responded beautifully to his urging, rising to the surface without a fight and setting about _fixing_ the problem at once.

(He had to wonder if _all_ of the siblings had such malleable power.)

(And if so, was it a result of their age or their _heritage_.)

By the time Kisuke released Yuzu's hand, Tessai had brought out treats and sat with them. Bribes in hand, it didn't take Tessai long to gently pry an answer from the other two children about what they'd been up to.

(Cooking. Little Yuzu had been trying to _cook_ with Ichigo's help.)

(She was barely four. He was barely ten. _What_ was their father _doing?_)

Which of course led to Tessai offering cooking lessons, and to Ichigo accepting with grudging relief.

Which led to all three visiting the shoten day after day for snacks and lessons. They even began to do their homework around the common room table, with Ichigo helping his sisters and _Kisuke_ leaning over every so often to help _Ichigo_ out.

(He needed to brush up on his human-world subjects but… it wasn't like he had all that much else to occupy his time. Not when he was playing a waiting game with Aizen and all of Seireitei.)

It wasn't long before the children became comfortable with him and Tessai, their shy smiles and watchful eyes fading away the longer they spent around him. And the more they relaxed, the more their grief came to the fore.

Kisuke found himself trying desperately to remember everything Yoruichi had _ever_ told him about children, of which… very little was actually useful. He knew everything an assassin or saboteur needed to know — how to capture, how to drug, how to _control_ while leaving the children still _useful_ as captives — but nothing about how to _care_ for them beyond the obvious.

(He and Yoruichi had never intended to have children, even back when they'd once daydreamed of marrying and living together forever.)

(Before they realized what 'marrying' meant, and decided that living together forever was good enough.)

For lack of any other idea, Kisuke let them do what _they_ wanted. They clambered into his lap and he held them close, letting them cling and soak his jinbei with their tears. He held them and listened and let them cry themselves out, answering whatever he could and telling them when he had no answer.

It seemed to help.

(At the very least, it didn't seem to _hurt_ anything.)

(Kisuke would take what he could get.)

Ichigo's best — only? — friend began to visit as well. She was a little spitfire who stomped up to Kisuke her first time over, focused and intent and stubborn like Yoruichi. She planted her hands on her hips, stared up at him, and _thanked him_ for helping her friend.

(Kisuke had no idea what to do with her thanks. He'd not _meant_ to do this, but now that he'd begun… well. He'd always hated leaving something unfinished.)

Things settled into a routine of visits and lessons and silly stories woven out of fragments of the lives of people he had once spied upon. On rare days when the children didn't come around, the shoten felt colder, emptier than ever.

(He was getting attached. Oh dear.)

It all came to a head months later, when Isshin _finally_ noticed how late his children stayed out every day. When he finally took offense at Kisuke interacting with them.

He stormed into the shoten long after the children had gone, teeth bared and shoulders squared and every inch the offended Captain and Clan Head. "You leave my children out of your damn schemes, Kisuke!"

"And what schemes would you be referring to this time?" Kisuke asked lightly, playing with his fan and wondering what grand plot Isshin had conjured up that required Kisuke to play nice with three small children. They had spoken about training Ichigo to defeat Aizen due to his strength even _with_ the seal in place, but that plan wouldn't come in to play for years yet. "I'm doing nothing but giving them a place to come after school where they can relax and work in peace."

Isshin scoffed. "Is that all? Then why are they always _here_ instead of home?"

Kisuke bit back his immediate response — _'because __**you**__ never give them the time of day, much less the attention they need__'_ — and shrugged. "Maa, who knows how children think. I'm sure they'll grow out of it in time. Maybe they just need some time away from the place that reminds them of their mother?"

His words scored a hit; Isshin hunched in on himself and glanced away, hands clenched at his side and brows furrowed. "Fine. But don't you _dare_ drag them into trouble with you."

"I won't, I won't," Kisuke reassured with a cheerful smile. He had, after all, no intention of doing any such thing.

(Intentions meant so little in the grand scheme of things.)

(His past could catch up to him at any moment, but he was selfish enough to cling to what fragments of happiness he'd found.)

Isshin left, and Kisuke stood in his deserted shop and tried to gather his thoughts and sooth his urge to _destroy_. He'd not expected the low burn of anger at the sight of Isshin, nor the sheer possessiveness that Isshin's words — _'my children'_ — had provoked within him.

(They weren't _Isshin__'s_. He'd lost all right to that claim _months ago_.)

Kisuke snapped his fan closed and strode out of the shoten, mind whirling with everything he'd just discovered.

He needed space. Needed to clear his head and settle his emotions and make a _plan_. Because if he could be so surprised by his own reactions then he'd let this mess go on for too long without one.

He meandered this way and that, down sidewalks and through alleys and finally into a park, ignoring the handful of humans he crossed paths with in the process. He didn't want _company_, he just… needed to be _somewhere else_. Somewhere that didn't remind him of the Kurosaki siblings, or Isshin, or _anything_ resembling the mess he'd gotten himself into.

Kisuke breathed in. Tapped his fan against his leg. Considered the wending paths deeper into the park and chose his direction.

He had plans to make.

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Come visit me at akaluan over on tumblr if you'd like! There's a fairly large collection of drabbles and other oneshots available there - do a search for Masterpost By Month and most of it will come up!

If you'd like to read other stories that I'm currently working on, check out my wordpress at akaluan . silveredmagic . com . I've currently got four stories running that update on Wednesdays, all Bleach or Bleach crossovers.


	2. Chapter 2

He had only a handful of minutes to start planning before a sniffle caught his attention.

Kisuke froze, then cautiously turned to follow the too-familiar sound of almost-crying child. It didn't _feel_ like one of the Kurosaki children, but… it was late and the park was dark and there was something _familiar_ about the barely-there presence.

A black-haired boy sat at the base of a tree, knees drawn up to his chest and head buried in his arms, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"What's wrong, kid?" Kisuke asked, kneeling just outside of arm's reach in an attempt to look less threatening. "You really shouldn't be out here so late. Are you lost?"

The kid shook his head, peeking over his arms at Kisuke. "Kaa-san's _dead_," the kid told him, tears streaking his cheeks and glasses askew. "Kaa-san's dead a-and t-tou'san's… s-still cutting i-in-into her…"

Kisuke bit the inside of his lip until he tasted blood; he'd left the shoten to _think_, not to fall straight into another mess caused by one of the two empowered _fools_ who called Karakura home. He didn't know Ishida Ryuuken even half as well as he knew Isshin, but the boy's untrained signature was similar enough to place.

(What the _hell_ was Ishida Ryuuken _doing?_)

(Never mind. He wasn't going to leave a distressed child alone in the park anyway.)

(Kami, Ichigo and the twins were making him _soft_.)

"You're alright, you're safe," he murmured soothingly, reaching out slowly to gather the boy into his arms. The boy flinched at his touch, body stiff and hands trembling, and it took all of Kisuke's self-control to keep the sudden _fury_ from leaking out where the boy could sense it. He adjusted his grip so the boy could easily slip free if he wanted to and said, "Hey now, hey, it's alright. What's your name?"

"I-ishida Uryuu," the boy answered, tone wary.

"A fine name, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke said, aiming to keep his tone light. "I'm Urahara Kisuke, it's nice to meet you."

Uryuu mumbled a response, head down and body already beginning to curl inward once more. He didn't burst into tears, but Kisuke hadn't expected him to; it had taken weeks of Ichigo knowing him before he gave into his grief where Kisuke could see. He doubted Uryuu would be much different.

"This really isn't a comfortable place to stay the night," Kisuke told the boy in his arms. "My shoten isn't very far. I can have Tessai make up some snacks and you can stay over, how about that?" Because _whatever_ Ishida Ryuuken was doing, it had been enough to send his son haring off alone to cry in the _park._

Uryuu hadn't just hidden himself away at home, he'd fled the building in order to find _somewhere_ to cry where his father was unlikely to find him.

(Kisuke was in no mood to deal with a second fool so soon after the first.)

(Why did it seem like he and Tessai were the only ones who gave a damn about these kids?)

Uryuu peeked up at him again and nodded slowly, then squeaked in surprise and latched his arms around Kisuke's neck when Kisuke rose and settled him on a hip. He didn't struggle though, just watched Kisuke until they left the park, then lowered his head to rest it on Kisuke's shoulder.

The trip back to the shoten was silent but for Uryuu's small sniffles and hitches in his breathing. It hurt to hear, but there was nothing Kisuke could do for him at the moment but _be there_; he was a stranger and not to be trusted, after all.

(He really shouldn't be.)

Tessai was a blessing of efficiency. Drinks and snacks were laid out soon after they entered, and not long after that Uryuu had been shown to a guest room and given a spare set of Ichigo's sleep clothes to change into.

(None of them got much sleep that night.)

(He'd left to clear his head and come back with another child. Sometimes Kisuke couldn't believe his twisted luck.)

The next day, Kisuke informed Uryuu of the Kurosaki family and how they spent time at his shoten almost every day. He didn't want Uryuu to be surprised by the siblings, after all.

("Do I… have to spend time with them?" Uryuu asked, fidgeting with his chopsticks and watching Kisuke from the corner of his eye.

"No, of course not," Kisuke reassured. "You can come and go as you please. The only requirements I have are that you make sure to eat something every day and that you keep up with your school work."

Uryuu frowned and poked at the remains of his breakfast. "Okay," he said, tone cautious and filled with disbelief.)

He had a similar conversation with the Kurosaki siblings, telling them of his new guest. It seemed only right to make sure that both sides knew of the other, after all.

("He's a bit withdrawn right now," Kisuke cautioned Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin. "His mother just died and things aren't well at home, so he's staying with me. Be kind if you see him, but try not to overwhelm him, okay?"

"But isn't it better to be with others when you're sad?" Yuzu asked, staring up at Kisuke with wide eyes.

Kisuke hummed and reached out, ruffling Yuzu's hair. "Everyone grieves differently, Yuzu-chan. Some people just need time by themselves to come to terms with everything. Our job is to be here when he reaches out at last."

Ichigo nodded solemnly. "We'll give him time.")

Uryuu remained shy and reticent as the days went by, ghosting through the shoten on carefully silent feet, watching from doorways and corners. The boy left for school every morning and returned as soon as class let out, retreating to his room the minute Ichigo and his sisters arrived. He spoke little and asked for less, not even asking for Kisuke or Tessai's help to fetch his things from the Ishida mansion. He just showed up one afternoon with two backpacks stuffed full, one with school supplies and the other with clothing, and settled more firmly into the room Kisuke had given him.

Kisuke did what he could. He spent time with Uryuu and helped wherever the boy allowed, but he felt lost, unsure whether he was helping or harming the boy with his quiet and somewhat hands-off approach. At least Uryuu didn't appear to mind his presence and had begun to relax around him.

(He would take what small victories he could.)

Several weeks into his stay, Uryuu began to drift closer to them, lingering out of sight instead of retreating to his room. The sadness began to ebb from his reiatsu and nervousness and uncertainty replaced it.

(Had Uryuu never had a friend..?)

(He would intervene but… how best to do so?)

It was Ichigo who broke Uryuu's self-imposed isolation.

One afternoon, he set down his book-bag at the table and kept moving, darting into the hallway before Uryuu could react.

Kisuke straightened up and turned to focus on the doorway, cautious but willing to allow Ichigo the chance. It helped that he could sense both of their reiatsu and didn't sense anything concerning from them; Uryuu's nervousness had spiked but he didn't feel _afraid_, just… confused and uncertain and a little _hopeful_.

The quiet murmur of Ichigo's voice, tone gentle and coaxing, reached Kisuke's ears and settled the last of his worries.

(Ichigo was a perceptive child. He'd know how to reach Uryuu when Kisuke didn't.)

When Ichigo returned, it was with Uryuu in tow and an adorable little scowl on his face. He nudged Uryuu to sit at Kisuke's side then returned to his sisters and sat between them, opening his workbook and starting to work.

Uryuu fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, nervous and uncertain and shooting the three siblings cautious looks every few moments. It was clear he was out of his depth, so Kisuke played host, pouring the boy some juice and giving him a plate of snacks to nibble on.

Tessai brought out Kisuke's shogi board and it didn't take much to entice Uryuu into learning the game. It gave the boy an excuse to limit his interactions with the Kurosaki siblings, which helped to settle his nerves and make him more comfortable.

Not that Uryuu's focus was captured by the game; he kept darting glances at the siblings, caution fading away to be replace by a puzzled longing that made Kisuke want to _hurt_ someone.

(Preferably Ishida Ryuuken.)

Uryuu slipped away as soon as dinner was over, retreating to his room while Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin were preparing to leave. He'd barely spoken the entire afternoon but Kisuke considered it victory enough. Small steps were better than no steps.

Ichigo continued the trend as the days went by, seemingly at random. Some days he'd go into the hallway and return with Uryuu in tow and other days he wouldn't even bother checking. Kisuke couldn't tell _what_ Ichigo was basing his decisions on, but whatever it was seemed to be pretty accurate.

("He needs more quiet than any of us do," Ichigo told Kisuke when he asked, voice serious and tiny scowl firmly in place. "Sometimes everything's too much for him; you can tell when he's getting there because he just starts… hiding in plain sight, I guess? Uhm. It's hard to explain. But anyway, I'm not gunna make him come out when he feels like _that_."

Kisuke promised himself that he'd start paying more attention to Uryuu's body language. If _Ichigo_ could spot Uryuu's tells after so little time, surely _Kisuke_ with all his training could do the same.)

So Kisuke taught Uryuu games or helped both boys with their homework or (rarely) sat back and observed. He learned to read all four of the children as best he could and tried to determine what their favorite things were.

Uryuu slowly came out of his shell and began to interact more with everyone. Some days he even came out to sit at the table without Ichigo needing to fetch him, and whenever that happened he was more vocal and outgoing than usual.

Kisuke learned first hand _exactly_ what was hiding under Uryuu's quiet, reticent surface: sarcasm, snark, and the makings of a truly brilliant young man. It left him almost giddy with delight to watch Uryuu open up to them without fear or nervousness.

(Yoruichi rolled her eyes and called him a sap. Tessai clapped him on the back and congratulated him on such a wonderful son.

Kisuke acted like the mature adult he was and stuck his tongue out at both of them.)

The more comfortable Uryuu became, the more often he and Ichigo fell into friendly bickering. He was more awkward around the twins, always keeping an eye on Ichigo and taking his cues from him, but he didn't turn either of them away.

And still Ishida Ryuuken never really came calling. Kisuke caught the man at the edge of the property just once, staring at the building with a dark frown, but he turned and left when Kisuke opened the door and stepped out.

It wasn't too difficult to catch up with the man though, and Kisuke matched pace and settled in to wait Ryuuken out as they walked down the street together.

"I don't have time to raise him," Ryuuken said, three blocks down from the shoten. "Just don't fill his head with any of your damn Shinigami tomfoolery. Otou-san did more than enough damage with his Quincy ideology before he died."

"Mou, maybe the boy just needs a bit more perspective, then?" Kisuke offered, eyeing Ryuuken's tired visage thoughtfully. He wondered if Ryuuken's marriage had been more than one of convenience or if the man was just a workaholic.

(Either way, Ryuuken had just washed his hands of his responsibility to Uryuu.)

(Kisuke wanted to _stab him._)

"There's nothing good about being a Quincy these days," Ryuuken shot back. "All the reiryoku in the universe will do him no good in the face of trying to survive in the modern world. The Quincy heritage will die with _me,_ you understand me, Urahara?"

"Maa, I think I'll leave that decision up to him," Kisuke said, baring his teeth in something a little too sharp to be a smile. "It's his life, after all."

Ryuuken gave him a dark, unimpressed look. "When he dies because _you_ encouraged his foolish fascination with things better left in the past, _on your head be it._"

Kisuke stopped walking. If he took a single step more at Ryuuken's side, the man would not make it home alive.

(He would not do that to Uryuu. Not now.)

(The fool was still Uryuu's father, no matter how little the boy spoke of him; if Uryuu wanted him dead, that was _Uryuu__'s_ choice to make, not Kisuke's.)

"One day," Kisuke began, as Ryuuken paused and turned to give him a puzzled one. "One day, you will regret this decision with your entire soul. There is no undoing this, Ishida Ryuuken. You are abandoning your son into my care and I will do _everything_ within my power to assure he grows strong and capable."

Ryuuken gave him a narrow-eyed, assessing stare, before finally coming to some unknown conclusion. "_On your head be it,_" he hissed. "Don't come running to me when your foolish decision causes his early death, because I will not help you."

Kisuke watched the man stride away, his fingers numb from the grip he had on Benihime's form. Rage — his own _and_ Benihime's — coiled through his gut like lava and left him frozen with the urge to _end_ the threat to his young ward's life.

(It would be so easy.)

(A briefly burst of shunpo. A blade between the ribs.)

(He could ensure the body was never found again.)

He took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out. Another.

(Uryuu wouldn't thank him.)

(_Uryuu__'s_ opinion was what mattered here.)

He tore himself away. Turned back to the Shoten and the kids he'd claimed as his own.

(How the hell was he supposed to break _this_ news to Uryuu?)

(Just when the boy was becoming comfortable, too. Damn. Damn Ryuuken and damn Isshin and damn Kisuke's own heart for putting him in this position in the first place.)

* * *

Come visit me at akaluan over on tumblr if you'd like! There's a fairly large collection of drabbles and other oneshots available there - do a search for Masterpost By Month and most of it will come up!

If you'd like to read other stories that I'm currently working on, check out my wordpress at akaluan . silveredmagic . com . I've currently got four stories running that update on Wednesdays, all Bleach or Bleach crossovers.


	3. Chapter 3

Kisuke was calm by the time he returned home, rage tucked away within the depths of his soul and plans already forming to _handle_ Ryuuken if it became necessary. For Uryuu's sake he hoped it didn't, but Kisuke had never claimed _forgiveness_ as a virtue. He'd allowed the man to walk away with his life intact, but he would neither forgive nor forget a single word Ryuuken had spoken.

(Let him make a single misstep. Let him cause Uryuu another ounce of pain…)

(Ryuuken would never see his death arrive.)

No one asked where he'd been when he stepped through the door and settled back into his seat, but Uryuu watched him with guarded, wary eyes. The boy had no doubt sensed Ryuuken lingering just outside the shoten, and given the last time they had interacted…

(Probably best he _hadn__'t_ killed Ryuuken, but oh how he _wanted__…_)

Kisuke smiled warmly at Uryuu and leaned over to ruffle the boy's hair. "Nothing to worry about," he reassured Uryuu. "I took care of it."

The disbelief in Uryuu's eyes stung, but the way he hunched in on himself and refused to look at Kisuke again felt like a physical blow. He had no idea what was going through Uryuu's mind but there was no way it was anything _good_.

(He just kept finding more reasons…)

(No. He wouldn't kill Ryuuken. Not yet.)

(Uryuu needed him more.)

Ichigo looked between them with a thoughtful frown, then looked past Kisuke and proceeded to tuck his homework away and close his textbook. "We'll see you tomorrow," he announced as he packed his things away and turned to help his sisters do the same.

Kisuke scrambled for something, _anything_, to say in response; he didn't want Ichigo to think he didn't want them around — the opposite was true, in fact! — but he didn't want them to be uncomfortable either! He needed to speak with Uryuu alone, but that could be easily accomplished by asking the boy back into his lab. There was no reason for Ichigo and the others to leave—

"Stop thinking so hard," Ichigo said with a huff and a cute little scowl. "It's just late and we need to go home."

"Ah…" Kisuke blinked and glanced behind him to see Tessai standing in the doorway behind him. He relaxed when Tessai nodded in agreement and turned back to the table. "Well then! Have a safe trip home and I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh huh." Ichigo stood and slung his backpack in place, then helped his sisters into theirs. "Bye Tsukabishi-san! Bye Hat'n'Clogs. Bye Uryuu-kun!"

"Bye," Uryuu mumbled, fidgeting with a pencil and not looking up from the table. He didn't say anything more as Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin left, waiting until silence descended upon the shoten before he asked in a monotone voice, "_He_ wants me to return, doesn't he?"

Kisuke grit his teeth and swallowed the fury that tried to rise. He busied his hands with serving himself another cup of tea, ignoring Tessai's concerned look and focusing on Uryuu. "Do you want to go back?" he forced out in as soft a tone as possible. But when Uryuu began to nod despite the resignation in his expression, Kisuke gave the boy a hard look. "The truth, if you will."

Uryuu froze, dropping the pencil back onto the table and staring up at Kisuke with a heartbreaking mix of disbelief and hope. "I don't have to?" he asked softly.

"You _never_ have to return there unless you want to, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke reassured, lifting an arm in invitation for a hug. "You're welcome to remain here as long as you want."

Uryuu shuffled closer and collapsed against Kisuke, burying his face in Kisuke's side and trembling like a leaf. "I don't want to. I don't. Don't make me…" he pleaded, hands grasping at Kisuke's jinbei and tugging at it with each repetition. "He scares me…" he admitted, barely loud enough for Kisuke to hear.

Kisuke wrapped his arms around Uryuu and held the boy close. "I won't, I promise. You don't have to go anywhere that you don't want to," he said. "We could even make this official if you want. Then no one could force you ba—"

"Yes!" Uryuu pulled away just enough to stare up at him, tugging at Kisuke's jinbei again. "Please? I… I don't… want to go back…"

He smiled and ruffled Uryuu's hair, then settled back as Uryuu scowled at him. "There's some rules we need to agree on together then, alright?" At Uryuu's cautious nod, Kisuke continued, "First, unless you'd like to change anything we've already agreed upon, that all stays the same. Your room, the chores we agreed upon, everything."

Uryuu made a noise of agreement when Kisuke paused, then tentatively asked, "And… the new rules?"

"I'd like you to call if you're going to be late back, just so I know you're still safe," Kisuke began, then paused to debate his next words. Uryuu would want to continue learning his Quincy arts, Kisuke suspected, but was it worth bringing it up immediately? Probably, if only to lay everything out from the beginning. "And any time you want to practice your Quincy arts, I would like either myself or Tessai to be present, okay?"

"Why?" Uryuu asked. He tilted his head and frowned a bit, looking up at Kisuke. "Are _you_ a Quincy? I… I thought there _weren__'t_ any others?"

"Reiatsu manipulation can be dangerous, especially when you're learning something new," Kisuke explained. "And… ah… no, I'm not a Quincy. I was once a Shinigami—"

"_What?!_" Uryuu jerked away and tumbled backwards, eyes wide. "Y-you're—why would you _care_ then?! Sensei _died_ because you Shinigami came too late, and—and—" he broke off with a sob, scrubbing at his eyes and knocking his glasses askew.

Kisuke pulled out his fan and fidgeted with it, forcing himself to not look away from Uryuu no matter how uncomfortable it made him. Uryuu deserved the truth — deserved to _know_ it was the truth — no matter how much it hurt to explain. "Seireitei — where Shinigami live — is… rotten these days. It's… it's been that way for at least a hundred years now." He gently set his fan down on the table, then folded his body into a full seated bow facing Uryuu. "I apologize, Uryuu-kun, for being unable to do anything for your grandfather."

Uryuu sniffled and snuffled further back. "Rotten?"

"There are those who want power for themselves and who have no concern for the lives of others. People like me are… gotten rid of, however possible. I was lucky to escape with my life, and even now I live in hiding." He grimaced and collected himself, mind darting through the possibilities. Delayed Shinigami response didn't make _sense_ with what Kisuke knew of Aizen's schemes, unless the Hollows the boy's sensei had fought were some of Aizen's creations? But that would mean…

Kisuke swallowed his bile and breathed through the urge to retch.

(Either the Twelfth was working for Aizen or Kurotsuchi had decided to go rogue.)

(Neither option was a good one.)

(His fault. _All his fault__…_)

"Was… was sensei..?"

"I don't know," Kisuke answered, straightening up to look at Uryuu. "He could have been targeted or it could have been a side effect of something _else_. My knowledge of the current schemes are dated and I hear so little news from Seireitei these days…"

Uryuu stared down at his hands, clearly mulling over Kisuke's words. Silent tears trickled down his cheeks before he roughly scrubbed the traces away.

"You don't need to make a decision tonight, you can take as long as you need to think on it," Kisuke said soothingly, resisting the urge to reach out towards Uryuu. He doubted it would be welcomed right now. "I mean what I said before; I will never force you to go back and you can stay as long as you want. If you tell me you want nothing to change, then nothing will. If you tell me you want to live somewhere else, I will see to it that everything is handled. Whatever will make you most comfortable, Uryuu-kun."

"Why?" Uryuu asked plaintively. "Why are you… you're a _Shinigami_, why do you_ care?!_"

"Shinigami aren't inhuman, we have emotions and attachments just like you," Kisuke murmured, hating how _useless_ the words were in the face of Uryuu's experience but _needing_ to speak them. "Besides, I'm not a very good Shinigami at this point, being an exile and all." He watched Uryuu struggle with his words, then leaned forward a bit and said, "Go get ready for bed, Uryuu-kun. Sleep on your decision for as long as you need, and don't be afraid to ask if you have any questions. I promise I will make whatever time for you that you need or want."

Uryuu nodded stiffly and rose, keeping his attention on Kisuke. "Good night, Urahara-san," he murmured as he retreated from the room."

"Good night, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke replied, trying to keep his body language open and calm. The minute Uryuu left the room, however, Kisuke gave up the pretense and slumped over the table, burying his face in his arms and giving himself a moment to wallow.

(Damn he'd made a mess of that conversation.)

(Look at him, master assassin and renowned inventor, tripped up by a single conversation with a kid.)

(He really wasn't cut out for this parenting thing…)


	4. Uryuu Interlude 1

Uryuu didn't know how to feel about Urahara. The man was a Shinigami but he'd taken Uryuu in without question. Offered him a home and safety and a way to escape _that man_. He _knew_ Uryuu was a Quincy and yet had done nothing about it, just offered him a place to stay and introduced him to the Kurosaki family.

(And now he offered training?)

(_Why?!_)

The uncertainty drove Uryuu to avoid Urahara at all costs. If he wasn't at school, he was holed up in his room, distractedly completing his homework and mulling over their last conversation again and again.

(Maybe if he looked hard enough, _long enough_, he'd find the lie.)

(There had to be one. There had to be.)

Kurosaki Ichigo left him alone the first day, and the second, and the third, and Uryuu hoped that meant Kurosaki would just leave him be until he _finally_ sorted it out in his head. It wasn't anything that Kurosaki could help him with anyway.

(He didn't _need_ Kurosaki's help anyway.)

(He didn't.)

(He was just fine on his own.)

Except Kurosaki didn't remain away. On the fourth day he left his sisters in the common room and approached Uryuu's room.

"Go away," Uryuu ordered the minute he felt Kurosaki's reiatsu outside his door.

(It was so _warm__…_)

(No. He didn't need Kurosaki's help. He didn't.)

"Hmm. Not yet." The door creaked a bit as Kurosaki leaned against it. "Are you okay, though?"

"What part of _go away_ don't you understand?!"

"You haven't hidden like this since you first came to stay. I… was it something I did? Or my sisters?" Kurosaki's reiatsu settled more firmly across Uryuu's senses, _warm-concerned-__**caring**_, and Uryuu nearly choked on the whine that wanted to escape.

(Kurosaki was untrained.)

(He couldn't _lie_ like that…)

Uryuu's silence only made the concern sharper, and the door inched open so that Kurosaki could peer in at him, brows furrowed. "Hey, you okay?" he asked softly, frown growing more pronounced as he scanned Uryuu.

"I'm _fine_," Uryuu muttered, looking back at the homework he'd been listlessly poking at.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Kurosaki hesitated only a moment before he stepped into Uryuu's room and slid the door closed behind him. He flopped down on Uryuu's futon and leaned into his side, peering down at Uryuu's workbook instead of focusing on Uryuu. "Want to talk about it?"

"Nothing's _wrong_," Uryuu denied, resolutely ignoring how warm Kurosaki was and working on another problem. "I just don't want company. Like I have before."

Kurosaki hummed. "If nothing's wrong, then why've you answered like half of those problems wrong?"

Uryuu froze and dragged his mind away from the problem of Urahara and onto the task at hand. Surely he hadn't done so poorly—

He had, he realized with a start, staring at the answers he'd written down. He didn't know if _any_ of them were right and that was… concerning.

(How many assignments had he already turned in with such problems?)

He dropped his pencil onto the workbook and took off his glasses to rub at his eyes, struggling to hold back his tears.

(He couldn't cry in front of Kurosaki. He _wouldn__'t_. He wasn't a _baby_.)

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay," Kurosaki murmured, wrapping an arm around Uryuu and pulling him into an unexpected hug. "Will you tell me what's wrong so I can help?"

"You can't help," Uryuu muttered while half-heartedly trying to escape Kurosaki's hug. He didn't want to give in, didn't want to _accept_, but… Kurosaki's reiatsu was like a warm, heavy blanket and his hug felt _amazing_. Giving in and slumping against Kurosaki's chest was such a relief that Uryuu couldn't help but wriggle closer and cling tight to Kurosaki's shirt.

"We won't know that for sure until you tell me."

He doubted it. Doubted Kurosaki could do _anything_ for him. But Kurosaki was right: they wouldn't know for certain until he knew everything. "Promise not to tell anyone?" he asked, hating how small his voice sounded.

"Promise."

Uryuu bit his lip and pressed closer, then reluctantly began, "Sensei… Sensei died this spring—" and once he started, it all came tumbling out in a tangle of hasty words. His grandfather's death because of the Shinigami being late. His mother falling into a coma and dying. Finding… _that man_… still fixated days later. Fleeing the hospital and being found by Urahara.

The offer.

(A _home!_)

The revelation.

(A _Shinigami!_)

The confusion.

(What should he _do?!_)

He was sobbing by the end of it, forcing his words through the lump in his throat and clinging desperately to Kurosaki. He couldn't stop, couldn't swallow it back, but Kurosaki didn't seem to mind, just continued to hold him close and gently rocked them as Uryuu ran out of words and just cried.

They stayed like that until Uryuu ran out of tears and slumped against Kurosaki in exhaustion, mind blank and eyes aching.

"What do you _want_ to do?" Kurosaki asked after he'd given Uryuu a moment to gather himself. "And… does it really matter if Urahara is a… a Shinigami or not?"

Uryuu opened his mouth to declare that of _course_ it did, then slowly closed it. Did it? He wanted to say yes, but… "I… I don't know," he admitted when Kurosaki prompted him with a questioning hum.

"So… so he left, right? He's not part of that group anymore?"

"I… don't think so," Uryuu agreed. He'd gotten the impression Urahara was as welcome with the Shinigami as _he_ was with _that man._ "He… he did say he was lucky to escape…"

Kurosaki hummed in thought and rested his chin atop Uryuu's head. "Well, he probably didn't have anything to do with your grandfather's death in that case. And he took you in without question and never brought up the Quincy thing until the talk about becoming your guardian. So… so I don't think he cares about anything but _you_."

"He did say it could be dangerous." Uryuu wriggled in Kurosaki's hold, jabbing him in the side until Kurosaki took his _pointy chin_ off Uryuu's head.

(The chuckle and hair-ruffle his wriggling earned him absolutely did _not_ make him feel anything but annoyance. It _didn__'t_.)

"Makes sense." Kurosaki let his hand drop to Uryuu's back and tapped an absent pattern, reiatsu fluttering in thought. "Like how the teachers at my dojo don't want us practicing alone. Cause we can hurt ourselves if we do something wrong."

Uryuu considered it and had to admit it made sense. Sensei had given him the same restriction for about the same reason as Kurosaki said. Did Urahara have the same reasoning..? "Do… do you think Urahara-san _wants_ to teach me..?"

"Maybe. That's something you should ask him, though."

"Should… should I accept his offer..?" Uryuu asked, wondering if Kurosaki had any thoughts on the matter. He was… tired. Tired of the uncertainty. Tired of the worry. Tired of second guessing himself over and over again.

Kurosaki was safe and warm and _good_ — surely he'd know what Uryuu should do.

(And even if he didn't, even if he had no answer, just listening was more than enough.)

(He felt calmer than he had in days.)

"I would, but it's not my life. And call me Ichigo already!" Kurosaki grumbled without heat, poking Uryuu's side as he spoke. "We're friends."

Uryuu swatted at Kurosaki's hand and huffed, refusing the look up at the other boy. He didn't know what to feel, what to _think_, about the declaration, so he remained silent.

(Friends..? Were they really..?)

"Do you want to?" Kurosaki… _Ichigo_ asked after a moment. And when Uryuu nodded before he could censor himself, Ichigo continued, "Then I think you should talk with him… he's missed you being around."

"He… has?"

"Yeah. He's just… I don't know…" Ichigo paused to consider his words, then said, "Quieter? He seems… sad, I guess."

"Oh," Uryuu murmured, thinking back to their last conversation. To how Urahara had folded over and put his head in his arms like he was tired. He'd thought that maybe Urahara was tired of the argument — or of _him_ — but… maybe that wasn't the case? "When… when I left the room that night, Urahara-san sort of… folded over and put his head in his arms? I… I thought he was just tired, but…"

"Maybe," Ichigo agreed. "But he was talking about sad things, right?" So… maybe he was just dealing with sad memories."

"Why would he wait until I left, though? I… he…" Uryuu hesitated, struggling to sort out his feelings.

(What would he have done?)

(Would he have still fled or would he have lingered, confused and troubled and unable to help?)

(Maybe that was why Urahara had waited…)

Ichigo shrugged. "Adults are weird like that. They don't want kids to worry, so they hide when they're sad about stuff."

"Oh." Uryuu mulled that over, thinking on Urahara's words about running and hiding for decades from his own people. Did Urahara fear the Shinigami like Uryuu feared _that man_ now?

"It'll be okay," Ichigo soothed, tightening his hug and digging his pointy chin into Uryuu's head again. "Just talk with him, please?"

"Will you stop that?" Uryuu grumbled, jabbing Ichigo in the chest until his friend chuckled and relented, moving his head so his chin wasn't being quite so obnoxious. Except without anything else to focus on, Ichigo's request lingered in his mind. "What if… what if he's changed his mind?" Uryuu couldn't help but ask.

"He hasn't, trust me."

"You're sure?" Uryuu felt Ichigo's nod and sighed. He hadn't known Ichigo for very long, but… he trusted the other boy. "Alright… I… I'll talk with him."

(Let his trust not be misplaced…)

"Thank you."

Uryuu expected Ichigo to let him go — their conversation was over and Uryuu had cried all over him, surely Ichigo wanted away? — but that didn't happen. Instead, Ichigo shifted both of them into a more comfortable position and _kept holding him_.

Uryuu couldn't find it in himself to protest.

Ichigo was _safe-warm-kind_ and it was so easy to just… rest in his arms. So easy to relax and let his mind wander and not focus on _anything_ for a time.

(He needed this.)

(So this was… friendship?)

(He'd do his best to remember.)


	5. Chapter 5

Real life's been kinda kicking my ass, hence the lack of updates for three straight weeks. Think I've finally started to get a hold of everything again, tho. We'll see.

* * *

As the days passed with no sign of Uryuu relenting, Kisuke tried not to fret over him where the Kurosaki siblings could see. They didn't need to know how _deeply_ Uryuu's words and suspicion had cut—

(When had he become so _compromised?_)

—and didn't need to worry themselves over something that would resolve itself in time.

(He hoped.)

So he squared his shoulders and swallowed his unease, pretending that everything was under control.

(It wasn't. Oh how it wasn't.)

(Control slipped through his fingers and _anger-fear-helplessness_ burned like bile in his throat.)

Uryuu was once more like a ghost, drifting between his room and school as if on a loop. He moved in silence, gaze never quite focused on anyone around him, and whenever Kisuke tried to approach him, tried to _speak_ to him, he would flinch and retreat as if burned.

(And Kisuke burned with him.)

Karin and Yuzu and Ichigo weren't fooled, no matter how he tried. Every afternoon they stayed with him, cheerful and bright and _kind_ the way he didn't deserve but didn't have the heart to deny. Their warmth beat back the edges of gnawing despair once more making a home within his chest. It wasn't enough but it _helped_, and that was all Kisuke could ask for.

His acceptance of their attention only made them cling tighter; Yuzu cuddled into his right side while Karin used his left side as a backrest as she read. Pinned between the twins, Kisuke couldn't move an inch, much less turn to stare at the empty hallway that led to Uryuu's room.

And Ichigo… Ichigo watched it all with a small, pleased smile and tangled them all up tight-tight-_tight_ in his wild, protective reiatsu.

(How could they see through his masks so _easily?_)

(Was he losing his touch?)

It came to a head on the fourth afternoon. Yuzu asked for Kisuke's help, holding up her science textbook in question, and Ichigo took that moment to rise.

"Be right back," he said as he stepped around the table and headed into the back.

Kisuke suppressed a sigh as Ichigo left and tried to turn his focus to helping Yuzu. Maybe Ichigo would know what to do. Maybe Ichigo could get through to Uryuu where Kisuke was unable to.

(Maybe Uryuu would even forgive him.)

Fretting wouldn't get him anywhere. He needed to give Ichigo a chance, needed to give Uryuu space, needed to do everything that his instincts refused to allow. It was… it was like science. Everything in its time and place.

And right now, it was neither his time nor his place to impose upon Uryuu's space.

So he forced his mind to focus and absently monitored both Ichigo and Uryuu's reiatsu in case he needed to intervene. He doubted he would, given what he could sense from both of them, but better safe than sorry.

Hours passed while he waited for Ichigo to return. Not that he was left to his own devices, though; Yuzu and Karin were brilliant little extortionists in the making, conning him into helping them prepare for an upcoming test and doing their best to make him focus on them.

Still, it was a relief when Ichigo slipped back into the room, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Give him a bit more time," he announced as he knelt and opened his arms, clinging tight to his sisters when they scrambled to hug him. "Be kind and don't crowd him too much when he returns, okay?"

"Yes, Ichi-nii," Yuzu agreed cheerfully while Karin nodded. "We'll be good!"

"Thank you."

When Ichigo looked up at him in question, Kisuke nodded his understanding. A part of him grumbled at being given advice by a child, but… Kisuke knew his own limits. If Ichigo said to be patient and give Uryuu a bit more time, then he would.

The three siblings left soon after, gathering up their things and trooping out the door with cheerful farewells. Silence fell in their wake, the silence of being _alone_, and Kisuke sighed and poured himself more tea.

(He wasn't alone.)

(Tessai's quiet strength lingered in the stock room, prepping for the following day while Yoruichi, smug and content, got in his way.)

(His friends would never abandon him.)

Kisuke wanted to get up. Wanted to join his friends and tease Yoruichi and make Tessai give him that exasperated _I-disapprove-but-I__'m-still-laughing_ look of his. He wanted to turn his brain off for once and just _live._ But there was a chance — a slim chance, but still a chance — that Uryuu would come looking for him. While Uryuu remained awake, Kisuke would remain available.

So he drank his tea and waited, mind roving through the possibilities.

Tessai and Yoruichi had both gone to bed by the time Uryuu crept from his room and slunk into the common room, a blanket wrapped around his body and his eyes red-rimmed from crying. The boy paused and gave Kisuke a wary look, then ducked his head and crossed the room to take his seat.

"Good evening, Uryuu-kun," Kisuke offered softly, using a touch of kido to reheat the pot of tea and pouring both of them a cup.

Uryuu mumbled a greeting in response then fell into silence, fingers plucking at the hem of the blanket and gaze never leaving the tabletop.

Kisuke resigned himself to finding Uryuu a new place to stay, given the boy's nervousness. He was a bit too young to live on his own yet, but maybe Kisuke could con Isshin into housing the boy for a couple years. He didn't want to, given Isshin's inability to cope with his _own_ children, but it was—

"Do you… do you still want me?" Uryuu asked, his voice small and his body curling inward.

"Of course," Kisuke answered immediately, tucking away his _shock-relief-joy_ at the question and smiling warmly when Uryuu looked up at him in surprise. "I will never change my mind on accepting you into my home, Uryuu-kun."

"Oh," Uryuu breathed out, blinking rapidly before pulling the blanket closer and looking away. "U-uhm… I… I agree to the those rules and, uhm… I think… I think I'd like to make this official?"

"You're certain? Doing this will make me your legal guardian," Kisuke reminded Uryuu just to make certain the boy understood that they were talking about more than just new rules.

Uryuu chewed on his lip for a moment, then took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm certain."

Kisuke couldn't resist a pleased noise at the confirmation and grinned at Uryuu when the boy looked up. "_Thank you_, Uryuu-kun. Truly. Your presence is a joy to me and I'm glad you didn't decide to leave."

Shock spread across Uryuu's expression, and then a tiny, shy smile crept in. "You… you'd have let me stay even if I said no?"

"Of course I would! I would never turn you away, Uryuu-kun."

Uryuu fidgeted then asked softly, "Even if Ichigo-san and his sisters were to want to stay, too?"

"Even then," Kisuke confirmed, surprised and pleased by the use of Ichigo's given name. Uryuu clung to formality the same way Ryuuken did; to see him relaxing that within the bounds of the shoten was a promising sign. "The four of you are different people and none of you can replace another." It wouldn't take much to add another few rooms to the shoten either… well, he'd bring it up with Tessai in the was no harm in having spare rooms as a just-in-case.

Uryuu stared at Kisuke with narrowed eyes as if trying to discover a lie, then gave a shuddering sigh and rubbed at his eyes, knocking his glasses askew. "You said… you said you wanted me to only practice Quincy arts with you or… or Tessai," Uryuu asked as he readjusted his glasses and squared his shoulders. "Does… does that mean you can teach me?"

"Not precisely," Kisuke said, then continued before Uryuu's expression could fall too much. "I'm not a Quincy and I never studied their arts, but I have access to information and I'm _very good_ at reverse engineering skills from descriptions. Between the two of us, I have no doubt you'll become an incredible Quincy."

Uryuu perked up at Kisuke's words, excitement creeping into his reiatsu. "You promise?"

"I promise." He doubted Ryuuken would give him access to any of it willingly, but Kisuke didn't need him to be _willing_. The man was enough of a workaholic that Kisuke doubted Ryuuken would even notice if Kisuke helped himself to whatever Quincy paraphernalia he wanted. And Yoruichi could slip into Seireitei to dig up records of Quincy for hints of other skills they might have.

Uryuu edged around the table towards Kisuke, then paused to look up at him questioningly. When Kisuke lifted an arm in silent invitation, Uryuu slipped in and cuddled against his side with a murmured, "Thank you."

Kisuke hugged Uryuu close and ruffled his hair, grinning at Uryuu's sleepy protests. But Uryuu didn't pull away, just cuddled closer and yawned, reiatsu turning hazy with mingled _exhaustion-relief-contentment_. He tugged Uryuu into his lap and held him close, marveling at the trust Uryuu had in him even after discovering his past.

The boy's slight weight in his arms was comforting, a sign that he was not as much of a failure as he'd thought.

(He'd do his best to live up to their expectations.)

(It was the least he could do for them.)


	6. Chapter 6

Kisuke set to work as soon as Uryuu left for school the next day, having no interest in wasting time. A change of clothes, neatening his hair, and a tiny touch of kido later had him looking distinctly modern and professional.

(The best way to infiltrate was through the front door, after all.)

(No one looked twice at people who were supposed to be there.)

He didn't bother getting Ryuuken's agreement, not when the man had already washed his hands of Uryuu. If he wanted nothing to do with his _son,_ then he would _have_ nothing to do with his son, not even the moment that legal custody passed into Kisuke's hands.

(He'd long ago memorized Ryuuken's signature.)

Kisuke strode into the municipal office and set to work. He needed to create a paper trail that would stand up to scrutiny, and for that he needed all the relevant forms, stamps, seals, and signatures.

And for _that_ he needed a template to work from.

It took time to sort out, to find and forge signatures, duplicate seals, insert data into the system…

(To add touches of kido here and there to relevant parties.)

(Suggestions, influences, _modifications_ to muddy the waters and ensure the tangled forgeries were never questioned.)

(Powerless humans were so easy to sway…)

It was night by the time Kisuke meandered out of the office, flush with success and with Benihime crooning in the depths of his mind, all vindictive pleasure and possessive joy.

(Uryuu was his — was _theirs_ — and they would not let him go now.)

(Ryuuken could _burn_ for all they cared.)

He made a beeline home. Uryuu was still up, was still _waiting_, and Kisuke refused to disappoint the boy.

Uryuu looked up from the table the minute Kisuke stepped through the door, eyes going wide at the sight of him and reiatsu signature blazing with curiosity. Curiosity that softened into shy _happiness_ when Kisuke knelt and presented him with _proof_.

Folder open in front of them, Uryuu flipped through the pages once, twice, a third time, his smile growing wider with each pass.

Papers dropped from Uryuu's hands as the the boy twisted around and lunged, wrapping Kisuke in a spontaneous hug that drove the breath from his body.

(He hoped he could encourage that to continue.)

(It was… nice.)

The next few days passed in something resembling 'normal' for the shoten. Uryuu came out to spend time with everyone, and the Kurosaki siblings cheerfully included him whenever he showed interest.

(Yoruichi howled with laughter when he slipped and called them all _his_.)

(The traitor.)

Uryuu kept silent about training, but Kisuke doubted the boy would last much longer. In preparation for the day, Kisuke sent Yoruichi back to Soul Society to dig through their records on Quincy and began to draw up plans to raid Ryuuken's home.

(And if it meant Yoruichi wasn't around to tease him, well… all the better then.)

He doubted anything from Soul Society would be useful, but he could always reverse engineer abilities from descriptions. Even mostly untrained, Uryuu could provide him with the basics he needed to extrapolate from, and the rest was just trial and error.

Distracted by his plans for Uryuu's training, it came as a surprise when Ichigo pulled him aside one day and asked to speak in private.

The minute they were tucked away in Kisuke's lab, the boy looked him straight in the eye and asked, "What's a Quincy and a Shinigami?"

Kisuke huffed in amusement, already knowing where Ichigo had heard those words. "Uryuu-kun told you?"

"Well, he _mentioned_ them. Mostly just that he's a Quincy and you're a Shinigami and that Quincy and Shinigami don't get along? But that's it."

He debated his options for a split second, then shrugged and gestured for Ichigo to take a seat. "Alright, but keep this to yourself and Uryuu-kun, okay?" Kisuke smiled secretively and continued in a low voice, "It's a secret to everybody."

Ichigo giggled then quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, struggling to look _serious_ as he nodded in agreement.

Kisuke smiled and started from the beginning, explaining the three worlds and the balance, about souls and Hollows and the Shinigami's role, before moving on to Quincy and their place in the worlds. Some of it clearly went over Ichigo's head despite both of their best efforts; Ichigo asked good questions, but Kisuke just couldn't figure out how to translate what he _knew_ into words that made sense. Not without more technical language than Ichigo currently understood.

(That was okay. They could always speak more on the topic later.)

(He would let the thoughts ferment in the back of his mind until then.)

In the end, Ichigo scowled down at the tabletop and drummed his fingers against his thigh. "So what's that make me?" he asked eventually. "Why can _I_ see spirits? Am I a Quincy too?"

"Ah…" Kisuke fidgeted with his fan and debated the weight of a promise given a decade ago. It had been fine when Kisuke had no intention of interacting with the boy until it was time to train him into a perfect little unpredictable soldier. But now… "That's… complicated."

Ichigo frowned in puzzlement. "Complicated? So… I'm not? Then what am I? You said that empowered humans are _rare_, so…"

Kisuke snapped his fan closed and set it down on the table next to him, decision made. The boy deserved to know, no matter what Isshin believed. "You're a hybrid. Shinigami and Quincy, and theoretically capable of learning both sets of skills."

"So… so is tou-san…"

"He _was_ a Shinigami once," Kisuke finished. "He gave up his powers in order to stabilize your mother, after she was infected by an unusual Hollow and began to Hollowfy."

Ichigo frowned in thought, then tentatively asked, "So… he really can't see spirits? He isn't lying about that?"

"He isn't," Kisuke said with a nod. "Right now, he's completely human, cut off from his powers and unable to even sense the spirits you see every day. I don't know when that will change, or if it even will in this human lifespan. It might be that he will be entirely human until he passes away and becomes a spirit once more." He doubted that. Already he could sense the seal on both Isshin _and_ Ichigo wearing away, slowly cracking without Masaki as the focal point.

It was only a matter of _when_ it would shatter, now.

"Huh…" Ichigo stared at the floor, then squared his shoulders and gave Kisuke a determined look. "Will you teach me? I know you offered to teach Uryuu, but… can you teach me, too?"

"Why do you want to learn?"

"It just… makes sense, doesn't it?" Ichigo asked. At Kisuke's curious look he scowled and gestured at himself. "I've _got_ these powers, right? Cause I can see ghosts. And… and in the stories, leaving something untrained is _bad._"

Kisuke smiled at Ichigo's words. Trust the boy to turn to literature to explain his reasoning. "This isn't a story," he pointed out, knowing even as he said it that Ichigo was right. Training even the slightest bit of control into him would be better than nothing; already he was spilling reiatsu everywhere and time would only make it worse.

"I know it isn't," Ichigo told him with a pout, grief lurking just beyond his mask. "But it's true, isn't it? You said Hollows go after strong souls, so wouldn't me being untrained be _bad?_"

(_'Haven't I already caused enough death?'_)

"Oh, Ichigo-kun," Kisuke murmured, rising to step around the table and pull Ichigo into a hug. "They do, but Tessai and I keep watch now. You don't need to force yourself to learn right now if you don't want to."

"I… I know. But… please? I don't… want to be helpless anymore…"

"Maa, maa, no need to beg." Kisuke blew out a breath and pulled back, kneeling to put himself level with Ichigo as he did. "I'll teach you, but it's going to be really boring in the beginning. You're a very strong young man and you're going to need to start from the very beginning, okay?"

"Hai!" Ichigo straightened up, expression determined and gaze focused. "It's like how the dojo made us learn all the basic stances and movements before they even let us consider sparring."

"Exactly like," Kisuke agreed. "Except this is going to involve some really boring lessions like meditation."

"I don't care!" Ichigo declared stubbornly. "I won't give up. I'll learn whatever you want to teach me!"

"Alright then," Kisuke said with a grin. It was nice to see such enthusiasm, even if he doubted it would remain for long. But even a _start_ would be better than nothing; Ichigo could build on it whenever his interests aligned, and something was better than nothing when it came to control. "First lesson is meditation," he continued as he rose and gestured for Ichigo to follow him to a clearer area of his lab. "I want to you try to do this every night before bed, even if only for a few minutes."

Ichigo trotted over and sat on the floor where Kisuke gestured, copying Kisuke's posture as he best he could. He sat and listened as Kisuke began to explain, his entire being focused in a way Kisuke rarely saw.

It was almost breathtaking to be the center of such determined focus, to be teaching someone with such a desire to _learn_.

(Isshin was going to be so furious when he discovered this.)

(Let him.)

(Ichigo was _Kisuke__'s_ now.)


End file.
